


Of Dust And Cicada

by orphan_account



Category: Factorio (Video Games)
Genre: Insects, M/M, Survival, factorio - Freeform, scifi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:41:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26546929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Dr. Ryker Bleu & Redeye Bastion find themselves stranded on a desolate planet. Their only company is each other and the violent insects that call the wasteland home. Will the two men find a way out of this or will they eventually  become dust.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	1. 001

Sheet metal whined underneath Ryker’s gunmetal blue boot as he squatted down to poke the smoking remains of his yellow scout ship with his pistol. No amount of repair kits in the world could salvage the metal yellowjacket. It was quite a shame; he’d just gotten it serviced three weeks ago after filling out the last space on his punch card.  
  
“I can tell you’re scowling.” A voice chirped just behind him.  
  
Leaning on what was left of the right wing; fanning himself with a crimson plated hand was Ryker’s Scout-Partner Redeye Bastion. The man already had his helmet off, bits of dark brown hair framing his face.  
  
“Did you even check to see if the air was breathable”  
  
“Didn’t have to, the back of your helmet is cracked.” Ryker’s hand shot up to the back of his head, his fabric covered fingers moving along the damage.  
“Dammit, I don’t have insurance on this suite.”  
  
“Good thing we’ll probably be dead by nightfall then.”  
  
“What makes you say that?” Ryker asked, pushing himself up using the sides of the smoking ship.  
  
“Ship’s SOSBOX is dead, fried on impact.”  
  
“Ah.”  
  
“Yeah, ah.” Bastion shifted as Ryker moved to lean up against the wing next to him. He watched the man struggle for a minute with his helmet before sighing.”Need some help Dr. Bleu?” A faint grunt could be heard from behind the man’s blue helmet.”I’ll take that as a yes.” Ryker moved to stand in front of the good doctor placing a hand on each side of his helm.  
“Don’t rip my ears off Bastion.”  
  
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” With a quick tug, like pulling on a pop-gun Ryker’s head came free from the broken helmet.”I was right, you are scowling.” Ryker Bleu suffered from a severe case of bitch-face so regardless of his mood, he was always scowling.  
  
“Shutup.” Ryker pushed a plated hand to his forehead, sighing softly. As Bastion stared down at him, his blue helmet hooked up under his left armpit.”What? What are you staring at?”  
  
“You know. I had no idea your eyes were that dark.” Bleu blinked at the comment.”Remind me of that obsidian chunk we found our first mission out together.” Bleu instinctually moved his hand closer to his eye as he absorbed the information. He couldn’t tell if it was a compliment, and if it was a compliment, why Redeye was choosing to talk about it now.  
  
“What do my eyes have to do with us crashing into an unscouted planet?”  
  
“Nothing..I was just distracting you.”  
  
“Distracting me from what?” Ryker froze as Bastion leaned close his hand making a flicking motion. Ryker turned his head just in time to see a large insect flying off his suit and onto the red sandy ground, dead on impact.”H-How long was that thing on me for!” The blue-suited man jumped practically falling into the tall brunette.  
  
“I don’t think you really want to know Doc.” Bastion gave the shorter a gentle pat on the head, his fingers being playful with the man’s short fuzzy blonde hair. Instead of pulling away Ryker just stood underneath the hand crossing his arms. His eyebrows furrowing so far together they could almost kiss.”Remember your breathing Ryker.”  
  
“Don’t you, remember your breathing me Bastion.” The spell of Redeye’s kneading fingers vanished as Ryker stepped away, his attention casting toward a broken metal cache that had been flung from the ship.”Hope there is something to eat in here.”  
  
“We didn’t exactly pack for a long trip.”  
  
“Just for a moment can you pretend like you’re good at being optimistic.” That was a big ask.  
  
“...We’ll surely get home within two days. We’ve got enough supplies to last us that long.”  
  
“Nevermind, just, look for what we can salvage and don’t say anything.”  
  
“Listen, I’m just being realistic.” Bastion tossed the broken helmet under his arm to the ground moving to inspect the dead alien insect.”Maybe we can eat this thing.”  
  
“Don’t make me shoot you Bastion. I only have one clip of ammo and I’ll empty it into your ass.”  
  
“So saucy.” Bastion stuck out his tongue playfully as he poked the dead bird-sized carcass with a plated finger.  
  
“Why are you touching that thing.” Ryker whined, kicking the metal cache open with his foot. Distraught to find it mostly empty except for a few protein bars and two canteens of purified water.  
  
“It looks like a land lobster, but gross.”  
  
“We’re not eating that thing Bastion.”  
  
“Come on, I snuck some paprika into our supplies. I bet if I just-” Sand flew up next to the crimson suited male as a bullet embedded itself into the ground next to him. He turned his head looking over his shoulders batting his long eyelashes.”Alright, point taken.” He shifted to stand kicking the insect a little further away as Ryker holstered his handgun, moving to grab a protein bar and plopping himself down on the ground.”Where did such a fear of bugs even come from? We literally see giant bugs all the time on our home planet.”  
  
“Exactly.” Ryker mumbled through bits of granola and other substances. He shifted handing Bastion a bar as the man took a seat next to him.  
  
“So, what are we going to do?”  
  
“Try not to die I guess.”  
  
“Wonder if it gets cold at night here.”  
  
“We’ll just huddle naked in the wreckage of the ship if it gets too cold.” Ryker responded with a grunt his dark eyes glowering at the dead bug a few feet away.”Obviously I’ll be the big spoon since you’re so short.” Ryker’s attention whipped toward the other man.  
  
“I’m not short.”  
  
“You barely made it past the Academy physical exam. They had to make a special exception because you turned out to be freakishly good with firearms.”  
  
“That is not-” Ryker trailed, whipping his head away and biting a large chunk out of his meal bar.”I am perfectly average height.”  
  
“Sure Doc, sure.” Bastion’s hand found purchase on top of the man’s head again giving it a good petting.  
  
“You’re lucky that I like that.” Ryker mumbled the fingers kneading the top of his head bringing a sense of calm over him.  
  
“That’s what I’m here for buddy.” Bastion beamed stupidly, his antics were simply a coping mechanism but at least they distracted the good doctor. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

Both men sat in silence for a long while as they munched away on nutrient rich bars taking careful sips from their water canteens. Once their meal was over they took time to inspect the wreckage one more thankfully finding one more cache of bars and a water purifying rig.  
  
“I hope we can find a water source. I really don’t want to drink my own piss again.” Ryker mumbled fumbling with the machine and precariously it on top of a piece of the ship.  
  
“That really traumatized you didn’t it?”  
  
“I can’t believe they force new students to survive a week on some lifeless moon before they can even take the written exam.”  
  
“I heard you made a sling shot and kept pelting the instructor with it.”  
  
“She was a total hag. She kept bullying one of the female cadets who was clearly not there by choice and had been sent because her father wanted to punish her.”  
  
“What the hell could she have done to warrant that reaction?”  
  
“Not being a son I guess.” Ryker shrugged as he began to use a half burned datapad to type in the supplies they were able to salvage.  
  
“Yikes.” Bastion shifted leaning against the shipwreck putting a hand on the water purifier so it wouldn’t wobble off.”Guess some people are still archaic after all.” They continued to chat on and off before they eventually had a tarp covered stockpile created. The two suns beaming down on the wasteland they were occupying were beginning to set and neither one of them wanted to be out in the open to find out what night was like yet.  
  
“Watch it, your elbow is digging into my back.” Ryker complained softly as he twisted a little to look at the man laying backside down staring at the ceiling of the burnt out yellow ship.  
  
“Sorry, a lot less room in this thing now that it’s as bent into itself.” Redeye turned his head as Ryker scowled at him from inches away.”You could always just cuddle next to me-”  
  
“Absolutely not.”  
  
“Why not?”  
  
“Cause you snore loudly enough as it is, being right next to you would be torture.”  
  
“Rude.”


	2. 002

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Ryker Bleu & Redeye Bastion find themselves stranded on a desolate planet. Their only company is each other and the violent insects that call the wasteland home. Will the two men find a way out of this or will they eventually become dust.

Three months had passed since Ryker Bleu & Bastion Redeye had crash-landed on an unknown planet inhabited only by insects as big as they were. It was a miracle the air was breathable and that they’d found running water in their first week. The 2nd miracle came when they were able to start deconstructing parts of the ship to be molded into tools and parts to be recycled for use. The only plan they had was to build themselves a new ship out of the old one or atleast try and make a boosted signal shot into the sky from a small booster.  
  
“Red what are you doing?” The doctor shifted standing beside the man quietly laying bricks down. Bleu had thought the man was making bricks to start building a path from their little base to their brick furnaces but the layering seemed haphazard.  
  
“You’ll see when it’s finished.” Bastion shifted to stand stretching his hands over his head. Since the air on the planet hadn’t killed them yet they’d been a little more free to wander around without all their heavy space equipment on. Ryker still usually kept his sleeveless ‘tactical’ turtleneck on along with his armor plated blue space pants regardless. Redeye however had taken to just wandering around shirtless his armored red space pants swapped for thinner tighter linen.  
  
“It’s dangerous to have no armor on.”  
  
“Come on the turrets you ripped off the ship can pick off any of those insects that come too close to our furnaces just fine. This planet is hot.” Ryker grumbled looking away as Bastion glanced at him a bead of sweat running from his forehead over his nose and into the middle of his chest.”I don’t know how you stand wearing that skin tight turtle neck of yours.”  
  
“It's airy! And protective.”  
  
“I don’t see how.” Redeye squatted back down to work on his bricklaying. He could feel Ryker standing over him, his eyes burrowing into his muscular sunburnt back.”Got something you wanna say Doc?”  
  
“N-no!” The blue clad male sputtered.”What’s that supposed to mean?” The tension between them was palpable. They’d both been feeling it since month two, but neither had addressed it at all.  
  
“Just saying, you seem like you’ve got something on your mind.”  
  
“I don’t. Just worried you’re gonna get skin cancer.” Bleu was already on the defensive. What was Bastion implying? Ryker didn’t have anything to say. He just wanted to get home.  
  
“Whatever you say Bleu.”  
  
Hours passed as Ryker fixed up coal drills and hauled whole containers of the fossil fuel down to their power supply. It was the one thing they were still having trouble maintaining. The power, the replicator from the ship could do a lot but it wasn’t going to get them everything. A lot of it was still assembly and reading blueprints until they collapsed from exhaustion.  
  
Redeye had finally decided to take a break, legs swinging over the dusty landscape as he sat perched on top of their dead ship. His eyes trailed as he watched Bleu return from what he could only imagine was nother insect slaying expedition. The man was armored to the teeth with a shotgun and replicated assault rifle. Bastion wasn’t even sure they needed the turrets with Ryker running around murdering every cicada in sight.  
  
“Those things are going to go extinct if you keep at it.” Redeye teased but Ryker simply threw his equipment down, stripping off his gut soaked shirt exhaling heavily. The compression top underneath looked tight and uncomfortable. "You know you don’t have to wear that around me.” Ryker glanced up a moment. Bastion had known what wasn't really a secret for awhile, but he'd never addressed it out loud before.  
  
“It’s not…Just don’t really want you to see me without it on.”  
  
“I won’t comment.” There was silence between them a moment before Redeye watched Ryker slowly and hesitantly pull the difficult to remove piece of fabric from his body. His eyes didn’t dip as he kept himself focused on Ryker’s face, as the man crossed his arms over it self consciously.  
  
“You really don’t care?”  
  
“You’re Ryker Bleu right? Extraordinary shot and sarcastic man still right?”  
  
“I mean yeah..”  
  
“Then what do I care about anything else?”  
  
“Right…” Ryker’s arms slowly lowered as he moved to sit down on a chest to start cleaning his shotgun. It wasn’t as though the things on his chest were that noticeable compared to some people, but they were still there where he didn’t want them to be. He hadn’t been able to afford the procedure to remove them yet.  
  
Bastion had never directly asked the man anything super personal. He’d known about his situation for a while and they chose not to discuss. Now that they were forced to share close quarters and a whole planet together alone; things had changed a little. Ryker seemed more comfortable just being himself and Redeye had felt the same.  
  
“You know you don’t have to wear it at all if you don’t want to. It has to be hot…” Redeye trailed as Ryker shot him a look.”Just a suggestion.”  
  
“They bother me when they’re just swinging around while I’m running.”  
  
“Ah, yeah, hadn’t thought about that.”  
  
“Besides...the binder is made up of the same material as the turtle neck. Can take some decent impact. So I have double protection.”  
  
“Ah like double wrapping a dick.”  
  
“Not like that at all.”  
  
“I know, I was just kidding.” Redeye stuck his tongue out jumping down next to the other man.  
  
“Trying to lighten the mood again?”  
  
“As always.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is a pseudo Factorio fanfiction. A lot of the ideas come from playing the game with my partner in crime. They characters really shouldn't be taken as self-inserts but our gameplay and personalities might have some influence.
> 
> Pieces will be in small 1k - 2k parts written up after every Friday of the week.


End file.
